Evening Folks and please don't ask........The build is still underway and I'm making progress...First,
Rick, you need to stop taking those naps all the time!!! Won't be any re-runs yet, so please stay awake Buddy......
There's always a place for you Andrea. You might want to wear very dark glasses and bring earplugs just in case I have problems. I wouldn't want to corrupt your morals my friend......
He was an interesting man Dude 2. The German problem was the losses on the East Front and the lack of effective anti-tank weapons to repel the Russian tanks. Hobart was cool as he made a lot of good mods to his tanks too. Hobart's funnies come to mind......
Sorry to hear that Steve...Are you getting good bench time or are you still involved in the renovation project with your fine lady??? How bad is that nose seam Sir??? Can you say hammer................
Thanks Jigs. Between the wars, he had a textile factory and after WWII and his release, he went back to Krefeld and started another textile business which is still going today. Prep with a resin kit is the only way to go. One has to test fit everything twice before dabbing the CA on it.
Thanks Los. Luciano Brach does make some interesting kits. Got a few more in the stash. They are pricey for sure and my wallet feels raped, but to be honest, I've get a warm and fuzzy feeling while building this. He makes 2 other kits based on the MCG. One with 7.5cm PaK 40 and a troop transport similar to the Sd. Kfz. 250. DES makes a few kits of French 1/2 tracks also. They're very finely cast resin kits too, but with a price......
As to my above statement...I started to finish the front suspension and went about cleaning up the tie rod and the steering arm. One has to be careful as these parts are thin and long to boot. Took a while and nothing got broken with my sausage fingers. I also drilled the steering arms out to fit the pins into them,
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One could replace the pins and make the steering fully workable, but if I started that, this build could take 6 months to finish. You know one thing leads to another. I will have the wheels turned to one side and CA everything in place. The tie rod pins, when in place in the steering arms, are 0.3mm too far apart and skews the steering with too much toe-in. No biggie, as I can fix that with no probs. I then went about removing the 2 stabilizers between the differential and the rear suspension mount last night. In doing so, I touched one of the fasteners for the motor side panels and it fell into my lap or so I thought. Hence the "don't ask" from above. One of these,
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Many foul words and an hour with my LED flashlight, on my wood laminate floor looking for it, NADA!!! The piece is 2x3mm and gone. I even checked inside my Nikes, but it was nowhere to be found. Ok, plan 2......I have a collection of a similar pieces from Dragon kits in my spares, but where??? Spent a lot more time looking for where I put the damn things and finally found them, along with my collection of wing nuts too. Unfortunately, they are shaped the opposite of the one above. I spent a lot more time today, after work, looking all over the floor for it again. No luck, so I'll just modify one of the Dragon pieces to use......I was not amused over this.....
Tomorrow, weather permitting, I want to AB the driver's interior, the underside, the track/suspension components and other parts. My order came today with fresh paint. I have been masking off the glue points as I don't like to CA painted parts together. Glue resin to resin and then do touchups as needed. Enough waffle for tonight folks..........
Update morn, with luck. Thanks for looking in and all abuse is welcome and cheerfully accepted...
I've posted some pics of other resin kits of French (Becker built armored and Normal) 1/2 tracks below. Not cheap, but very nicely cast and worth it.....
Prost
Allen
Brach Models
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DES Kit
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Food for thought...........................................